Photo: Alamy
A U.S. Army hospital in Germany has allegedly been treating U.S. volunteers and other fighters who were wounded in combat due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
Last weekend, The New York Times broke a story revealing that a group of soldiers were evacuated from Ukraine and sent to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, a U.S. Army flagship medical center in Germany.
The soldiers, who were reportedly “pierced by Russian grenades and mortar shells,” arrived at the hospital in need of surgery, The Times reported. While it is believed that only 14 Americans have been treated so far, President Biden had warned Americans early on not to get involved.
“American citizens should leave now,” Biden told NBC News back in 2022. “It’s not like we’re dealing with a terrorist organization. We’re dealing with one of the largest armies in the world. It’s a very different situation, and things could go crazy quickly.”
Since the war began last year, though, hundreds of Americans, many of whom are military veterans, volunteered to aid in the efforts of Ukraine, joining either local Ukrainian militia efforts or the country’s national army.
After being informed about the number of volunteer American soldiers joining the Ukraine efforts, the Pentagon stepped in “to offer some of them the same care it gives to American active-duty troops,” according to The New York Times.
The Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, authorized by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during the spring of last year, has acted as a hub for this aid, allowing treatment of up to 18 wounded members of the Ukrainian forces at a time, the Pentagon confirmed to The New York Times.
While it is reported that the soldiers are in good condition, a Defense Department official told The New York Times that leaders at the Pentagon were not only “unaware that Landstuhl was regularly treating wounded American volunteers” but that “leaders were not concerned about it.”
An estimated 20 American volunteers have died fighting the war in Ukraine since 2022, according to The New York Times.
